1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system and method for mounting heavy machinery to a horizontal support and, more particularly, to a system and method for mounting a commercial or industrial washing machine to a cement base.
2. Background of the Invention
Current methods for installing heavy machinery such as commercial washing machines include bolting the machines to an existing concrete floor or a newly poured concrete foundation. The bolts are anchored in upright position to the floor and arranged to preferably extend in alignment with bolt receiving apertures of the machine. The washing machine is lifted and lowered in position onto the bolts and subsequently secured with self locking nuts. In one known method employed by Wascomat of Inwood, N.Y., a template depicting the size of the foundation to be poured and desired location of the foundation bolts is provided.
However existing methodalities for installing heavy machinery such as the template system utilized by Wascomat are subject to certain deficiencies which detract from their usefulness. Most notable of these deficiencies is the ineffectiveness in properly aligning the bolts for reception within the bolt receiving or mounting apertures of the machine. In particular, the bolts are often installed at the incorrect locations due to operator error, or may extend in non-orthogonal relation to the cement base due to, e.g., uneven settling of the concrete. In addition, manufacturing tolerances with respect to the location of the mounting apertures of the machine may also compound the installation process.
As appreciated, any deviation from the precise positioning of the mounting bolts with respect to the mounting apertures of the machine creates significant obstacles to the operator/installer during installation. More specifically, the operator/installer may typically undertake significant modifications to the base of the machine to enlarge or create new bolt receiving apertures. Such modification obviously entails a substantial amount of man power. But, more importantly, any substantial modifications made to the machines degrades its overall appearance.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a novel system and method for installation of heavy machinery. In accordance with the subject invention, a novel adjustable frame and bracketing system incorporating mounting bolts translatable along fixed or movable brackets provides the flexibility needed to facilitate proper alignment of the bolts with respect to mounting apertures of the heavy machine to thereby effect installation of the machine without any modification to the existing machine structure.